How Many Call Monitoring Evaluations Should we do Each Month?

The question we get asked the most about call quality monitoring is, “How many evaluations should we do each month?”  We answer by giving the pros and cons of three options, and our clients make the decision that is best for them. The three options most common in the bio-pharma industry are provided below along with their respective pros and cons.

Option 1

Monitor a randomly selected, statistically significant number of calls or contacts.

If this option is selected, we most often recommend determining the sample size to provide a 95% level of confidence with plus/minus 5% margin of error. There are several easy to use and free tools on the web that can calculate sample size using these parameters. Following are we have found to be the Pros and Cons of this option.

Pros

  • Provides scientific rigor to an otherwise subjective selection and evaluation activity

  • Is the most defensible for compliance matters in a highly regulated call center environment like bio-pharma

  • Can overcome doubts agents may have on the reliability and objectivity of the monitoring program

Cons

  • The number of monitors or evaluations can be high and therefore more time consuming and costly compared to other options

  • The time to monitor a high number of calls takes away from time that could be used coaching agents

  • Extra work may be needed to ensure the calls of newer agents are being monitored in adequate numbers to ensure proper skill development

Option 2

Monitor the number of calls needed to ensure each agent is achieving his/her potential

This can be determined by the call center management team or in a call center team of agents and management. We have seen percentages ranging from 1% and 6% of the total calls or contacts. The key to this approach is not to focus on the overall percentage monitored, but on the number of monitors each agent needs.

Pros

  • Each monitor is performed with the purpose of improving agent performance

  • Likely less costly than a program monitoring a statistically significant sample size

  • Evaluations can be targeted at the highest value areas (i.e. newer agents, highly regulated contacts)

Cons

  • Does not contribute to assuring or defending regulatory compliance

  • Adds considerable subjectivity to the monitoring program

  • May increase agent skepticism of the program reliability

Option 3

Monitor the universe of contact center interactions utilizing a combination of artificial intelligence with human oversight

This option has been made possible in recent years with the advancement of transcription tools and artificial intelligence. This option does require investment in a platform that the other options do not, and will likely need committed resources to maintain and advance the system. 

Pros

  • Provides a transparent view of insights and performance across your center

  • Likely less costly on a price per evaluation standpoint giving you more value 

  • Insights can be provided at both the macro and micro level 

Cons

  • Does not contribute to assuring or defending regulatory compliance off-the-shelf

  • Upfront costs of purchasing a platform and hiring dedicated resources for management

  • May take time to "tune" the system to deliver valuable, accurate results

If you’ve asked yourself the question of how many calls should we monitor, I hope these options and the respective pros and cons will help you decide what number of monitors is best for your organization. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

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